Young Theo is from a fishing village on the Mediterranean island of Malta. He embarks on his first fishing trip with his father Simon, grandfather Karmenu and a Malian migrant worker, Moussa. An accident sinks their boat Simshar, leaving the crew stranded in open water. Meanwhile tensions run high when a Turkish vessel rescues African migrants between Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa, with neither country willing to allow disembarkation. Alex, a Maltese doctor sent on the ship to provide medical care gets caught up in the diplomatic dispute. His friend in the national armed forces, John, tries to get Alex back to land while assisting with the search for the missing Simshar. Theo's mother Sharin desperately rallies the local community into conducting their own search. Based on astonishing true events, Simshar tells two parallel stories of survival at sea and captures the impact of socio-political forces on personal lives.
| Directed by | Rebecca Cremona |
| Written by | Rebecca Cremona |
